Pure Consciousness: The Last Frontier

​The Evolution of Consciousness from a Scientific Perspective (cont.)

The initial development of form and substance provided a foundation upon which ever-more sophisticated ‘levels’ of sensitivity-awareness could emerge in ever-more complex organisms and species, first expressing organically in the biological make-up of Plants, followed by the emergence of a brain-based simple Awareness in Animals that later evolved into more advanced cognitive, intuitive, and insightful capacities embodied within humankind. This unfolding of ever-more complex capabilities through billions of years, when considered in the context of evolving Consciousness, reveals a universe that has systematically evolved from non-complex forms embodying limited capabilities of Awareness to ever-more complex forms embodying ever-greater degrees of conscious Awareness, culminating at this moment in evolutionary time in humankind. As far as we know, human beings born to Planet Earth currently embody the greatest potential in conscious Awareness of any specie yet known. 

Through scientific inquiry we also now know that all forms, organisms, and species that express as life on Earth today are governed by universal principles and laws that likewise govern the universe, as a whole. Scientists define these laws in mathematical terms to more of less ‘prove,’ as best they can, that laws of physics, for instance, such as motion, gravity, conservation, and uncertainty, accurately predict various symmetries that consistently and repeatedly express and appear everywhere in the universe of space and time, as conceived of Mind. In their totality, these scientifically defined symmetries and laws give evidence to the fact that at the most rudimentary level of expression, all forms appear as matter and energy in mathematically definable relationship, and that the relationship and behavioral patterns of all forms and expressions are governed by these laws. The presence of these universally applied laws establish order out of what otherwise would be chaos in the universe, as conceived of Mind. 

Such principles and laws also give evidence to the fact that all living organisms, including human beings, are made up of the same matter and energy that is the basis for all living expressions. Consequently, the laws that govern all life also govern Man. Simply put, the universe, as a whole, including Man, is governed by universal laws that govern all that is, which means that no aspect of universal expression, including Man, appears or lives outside of or beyond such principles or laws. 

​Science has also determined that built into the fabric of organisms and species are certain goals of attainment that express and re-express from one generation to the next. Among other things, these goals establish and reiterate an essential purpose in life that not only expresses within each organism, but also expresses from one organism to the next in successive order. And such purpose not only motivates and perpetuates the appearance of organisms and species on the physical plane, but also motivates organisms and species to evolve and transform into ever-higher ‘levels’ of creative expression in terms of ever-greater conscious Awareness within. The evolution of the physical world is thus the means by which the evolution of conscious Awareness likewise occurs within that which appears and evolves on the physical plane. 

Accordingly, when considered in its entirety, all physical phenomena that appears in the universe is not only inextricably integrated and therefore interdependent upon the whole of Creation to perpetuate, survive, and evolve on the physical plane, but is also inextricably integrated in terms of evolving Consciousness. Conscious Awareness, in and of itself, therefore, could not evolve absent a physical world in which to evolve in and through, just as the physical world would not evolve if Consciousness were not engaged in the process. 

Consequently, universal Law not only governs the physical world of matter and energy, but also the engagement of conscious Awareness, as such evolves within matter itself. Consequently, the functionality of the human brain, which allows for images and thoughts to arise and appear, is likewise governed by Law, just as conscious Awareness in its entirety is governed by Law. Thus, matter and energy expresses and evolves outwardly in the same manner that conscious Awareness expresses and evolves inwardly in and through all levels of expression, and the totality of this dynamic engagement is governed in accordance with one grand purpose or design. 

The systematic evolution of life and the universe could not happen by mere chance. Scientists have clearly demonstrated that the universe in general and life in particular is imbued with a purpose that is governed by law, not by chance. Organisms and species are thus ‘willed’ into existence, one might say, out of one Source by means of life-giving energy, governed by intelligent action that motivates each and every expression, all of which is underscored with a primary purpose or goal. And human beings, standing in the vanguard of the overall purpose or goal, thus embody the potential to realize and/or awaken unto the highest ‘level’ of conscious Awareness yet known. The overall purpose and goal, therefore, equals the ultimate destiny of humankind at this moment in evolutionary time.

Motivated by purpose, the formless Spirit of Consciousness expresses, expands, and evolves outwardly, energetically, materially, while simultaneously involving itself inwardly, lovingly, spiritually in the world of form. While engaged in form the Spirit of Life moves to liberate various aspects of form from attachments to past expressions and experiences, thus transformations occur within the form itself in the direction of the intended goal. Whether biological, physiological, psychological, or spiritual in nature, breaking out of bondage from that which expressed before to that which potentially can be expressed – from seed to plant, from egg to adult, from birth to death, from unconsciousness to greater Awareness in Consciousness – is the essential process that allows for an evolutionary progression from formlessness to form, from the simple to the more complex, from gross phenomena to subtle phenomena, and from form back to formlessness to occur – not only on the macro scale of the universe as a whole, but also on the micro scale of species within the universe itself – repeatedly, over and over again. 

Even though all levels of material expression are built upon that which came before, at some point, if they are to evolve, there must be a liberating moment in which an organism or specie is transformed from a lower level of expression to a higher level of expression. The fact that an evolutionary expression is liberated and made new, regardless of the level in which it is expressed, means that it is now different and therefore not wholly contained within or limited by that which it was before. Thus Life is continuously engaged in a movement of birth and rebirth, as it evolutionarily reinvents itself anew.

This evolutionary process that involves liberation and transformation within species themselves must occur within the context of universal Law because, as discovered through scientific inquiry, everything expressed in the universe is governed by Law. Therefore, if life is to effectively evolve in the direction of the intended goal, it must do so within the context of such Laws. And based on said Laws, that which proves itself useful, supportive, and non-resistive to the attainment of the intended goal is ultimately liberated, transformed, and thereby progressively aligned with the goal itself. Conversely, that which proves itself ineffective, unsupportive, and/or resistant to the attainment of the goal becomes obsolete and is ultimately cast aside, displaced, and/or supplanted with that which effectively evolves under Law. 

From the beginning the evolution of life and the universe has primarily focused on developing forms and capacities that support the unfolding of ever-greater conscious Awareness. Consequently, capabilities in sensitivity, perceptivity, and conceptuality within early organisms in connection with conscious Awareness were at best weak, if evident at all. Nevertheless, greater Awareness unfolded as newer mechanisms, such as the senses and the brain, evolved on the physical plane, allowing for ever-greater conscious Awareness to come forth. Even so, prior to modern Man, no specie had been endowed with the capacity to be consciously Aware of the evolutionary process in which they were involved because no species had yet been endowed with the necessary mechanisms through which the conceptualization ‘level’ of conscious Awareness could unfold. The advent of humans changed all that. For the first time a creature was endowed with mechanisms and faculties that allowed for concepts and thoughts to arise and materialize.  This milestone was then followed by yet another development of what might be called the Soul of Man that ultimately allowed for the sensing of (via inspiration and intuition) and eventually the witnessing of (via transformation in conscious Awareness) living Truth in the present moment, which is a ‘level’ of conscious Awareness unexpressed in any species that had come before.     

In the nineteenth-century, Charles Darwin coined the phrase ‘natural selection’ in describing an evolutionary principle of survival of the fittest at the physical level of existence. Species that proved more adaptable to outer environments were more likely to survive, as well as progress in the direction of inherent evolutionary goals. And one aspect pointed to, as an example of evolutionary progression, was the liberation of species in reference to their outer environment. This allowed for, among other things, greater freedom of movement, as circumstances required, which enhanced survivability all the more. Species born of the Plant world, for example, were less able to move about, therefore less able to adapt to changing conditions on the ground. On the other hand, species born of the Animal world, including Man, due to liberating factors were more adaptable in this regard, which is one reason why both the Animal and Man were capable of supporting the evolution of Consciousness beyond the level of Plants. But Darwin’s theory focused primarily on the external, evolutionary development of physical mechanisms and environment, rather than the internal, evolutionary unfolding of Awareness in Consciousness, which, it turns out, is what the evolution of species is ultimately, actually about.

Darwin’s failure to recognize the ultimate, underlying purpose of the evolution of species meant that he failed to recognize that in conjunction with external, physical development, conscious Awareness evolves concurrently within that which appears on the physical plane. This critical aspect of the evolution of species that includes the involvement of conscious Awareness, as well as the evolvement of species, is an aspect that Darwin neither articulated, nor apparently understood. Today, however, we can say with good authority that the evolution of life on Earth is not only about the outward evolution of organisms and species, but also about the inward evolution of conscious Awareness within species themselves.

At this stage in the evolution of the time/space universe, Consciousness has evolved to the point that external liberating factors, such as awareness of the external environment, as perceived by the senses, is no longer a focus of the work. This is because a species in the form of humankind has been ‘found,’ which is to say, foundationally prepared to support further inward movement toward the attainment of the evolutionary goal. Because the evolutionary movement of conscious expression is now focused inward, rather than outward, those who more readily evolve inwardly in regards to conscious Awareness are those who are ‘selected’ (similar to 'natural selection') and thereby transformed beyond the rest. According to scripture, Jesus referred to those who are ‘selected’ as the ‘elect,’ whose ‘days shall be shortened’ before Awakening unto greater Awareness in Consciousness. He also pointed out, ‘… the kingdom of God is within you.’ 

However, this most recent phase in the evolution of Consciousness is not an entitlement, nor is it a matter of holding to a belief, but rather is a potential that is embodied within Man, and Man alone. What began as single-celled organisms endowed with extremely limited awareness has evolved over billions of years into a potential in conscious Awareness beyond anything before known. 

Man’s capacity to realize higher ‘levels’ of conscious Awareness, as it turns out, is the single, most important factor that distinguishes Man from all other species. Even so, the principle of natural selection has not abdicated the stage. It has merely changed its focus from external, physiological considerations to internal, psychological and spiritual considerations that support transformations in conscious Awareness from within.

This being the case, it is not up to Man, from the point of view of self (which is nothing more than egoic attachments to conceptualized constructs of Mind) to decide or determine what he or she personally believes is the ‘right’ way to be or the ‘correct’ way to behave or the ‘best’ path to follow. But rather, it is humankind’s responsibility to remain open to whatever destiny has in store for him or her in terms of the evolution of Consciousness within. Just as flowers, birds, and animals live and act harmoniously, without judgment, in accordance with the Laws that govern the evolution of Consciousness, so also Man must learn to live and act harmoniously, without judgment, in accordance with the Laws that govern the evolution of Consciousness, which likewise govern the evolution of the universe, as a Whole. 

In other words, to use an ancient phrase, for one to awaken unto greater Awareness in Consciousness, one must abide in accordance with God’s Will and not one’s own. This potential, this opportunity that lies before each and every one of us from moment to moment as we go about daily life, determines whether we regress, wither, and die on the spiritual vine or bud, flower, and bear fruit according to the Divine plan. 

At this moment in evolutionary time, people throughout the world are awakening unto a ‘level’ of conscious Awareness beyond self – beyond thought. Much like when the human brain first began to think and express in conceptual terms, marking the advent of a new, higher ‘level’ of Awareness than the Animal, so also an even greater ‘level’ of Pure Awareness is now awakening in humankind. Just as the thinking process evolved into the highly proficient mechanism it is today, so also this new ‘level’ of Pure Awareness is evolving, or perhaps better said, unveiling Itself, to the point that it will one day be the norm, rather than the exception, in generations to come. Because Pure Awareness is currently so new in terms of evolutionary time, however, it is not yet proficient in its ability to transform the many into the One. Even so, just as the thinking process transformed rudimentary conceptual awareness into the digital age juggernaut it is today, so also the awakening process is transforming conceptual awareness into Pure Awareness in increasing numbers of people in ever-more profound ways.

The history of the universe and the world, when viewed as a whole, is in essence the history of the evolution of Consciousness manifesting from formless Spirit (or ‘No-thing’) into the physical world of matter and energy (or ‘thing’) and back again, by means of an ongoing cycle of birth and death, as it progressively evolves toward a goal. It is the history of the evolution of organisms, mechanisms, faculties, and species that have systematically expressed from the simplest particle to the most complex species yet known in an organized progression that can be traced back to the advent of space and time. And the most recent of evolved species, namely Man, standing in the vanguard of this ongoing evolutionary progression, is the first species born to Earth endowed with the potential to discover within himself, by means of Awakening unto Pure Awareness, who he truly is and why he is here. 

                                                                                                                                                                                              JC Tefft